Jay-Z x The 2011 GQ Men of the Year
Jigga, along with Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Fallon and a couple of others, gets another Man of the Year nod from GQ Magazine (his first was in 2006). Interview by Alex Pappademas is up. And, of course, he and Beyonce’s child will be listening to Reasonable Doubt:
“There will be a lot of that,” he says. “And a lot of other records, all pivotal, important records. There’ll be Ready to Die, there’ll be Illmatic.”
Last GQ cover below, still on the low like a Caesar (see: The Blueprint 2: The Curse, #12).
VIDEO: Kanye West “Monster” f/ Rick Ross, Jay-Z & Nicki Minaj
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Yeezy finally let’s go of the official “Monster” video that was basically banned from TV, sort of. Before the video kicks off, the following disclaimer can be seen/read:
“The following content is no way to be interpreted as misogynistic or negative towards any groups of people. It is an art piece and it shall be taken as such.”
Misogyny is defined as “a hatred of women.” Judging from all the corpses of women in the clip, affection or adoration of females doesn’t exactly come to mind, making that disclaimer seem insincere. Just saying. But great art is supposed to spark discussion or debate. So mission accomplished, right? Maybe, buy Ye has created much better videos.
Also, Nicki’s verse is good, but Jay-Z’s is the best. [Spotted at 2DopeBoyz via Yeezy’s Spot]
VIDEO: Empire Shtick of Mind “Jew York”
“Jew York! Concrete jungle were Bernie made off!”—Whoever is singing in the above video
The homie HB Wellington sent me this through the transom and I’ve been laughing ever since. All types of Jewcentric NYC references (Hester St., Katz’s Deli, et. al.) Suddenly have the urge for a bagel with a smear and lox (no Bad Boy).
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Twitter Presents: Jewish Rap Names [Paul Rosenberg] started by Paul Cantor
Jay-Z Rolling Stone Cover [Rap Radar]
Jay-Z x Absolut ‘NY-Z’ Documentary
A 15-minute documentary on Jay-Z directed by Danny Clinch. Titled NY-Z, besides spending some quality time with the rapper/mogul, it’s part of a partnership between Hov and Absolut.
By the way, Jay-Z’s “Where I’m From” is > Diddy’s Dirty Money’s “Angels”; by leaps and bounds. Also, Cristal lost. [Checked at Complex]
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Jay-Z’s Stash Spot Found?
Mag Apologies To Bey, Jay-Z Over $10 Mil ‘Marriage Contract’ Claim [AllHipHop]
I do this for the culture.
All-Black Penguin
All black everything...
This super-rare, all-black penguin must listen to plenty of Jay-Z, obviously. [The Daily Beast]
J. Cole Covers The Source Magazine
Starring...
So much for sharing that XXL cover. Roc Nation artist J. Cole covers the April/May issue of The Source Magazine. Not a bad look for a new jack with no album.
J. Cole is nice with the words and verbs, though.
Props to the stylist who gassed him into wearing that jacket. No shots. Video of “A Star is Born” peformance in NC below via Nah Right.
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Gumsole Beatdowns x Snoop Dogg’s “I Wanna Rock” x “Space Dust”
Hov, Clue, Snoop
Like I said on Twitter, Snoop Dogg’s “I Wanna Rock” sounds better with every listen. Many quickly say, “That beat samples Rob Base’s ‘It Takes Two,'” but that’s technically wrong.
“I Wanna Rock” actually samples a song called “Space Dust” by the Galactic Force Band (GFB). The song originally appeared on GFB’s Spaced Out Disco (1978) album which featured disco covers of sci-fi movie theme songs including Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. DJs worth their Technics will recognize that the song appeared on Ultimate Breaks & Beats Vol. 16. It was the third track on side B, immediately after Lynn Collin’s “Think (About It)”—which was produced by James Brown and is the prominent sample on Rob Base & DJ EZ-Rock’s “It Takes Two.”
Also worth noting, at least for Roots fans, is that Dice Raw sampled “Space Dust” for his “A Thin Line (Between Raw & Jiggy)”; the lead single, from his debut album, Reclaiming the Dead, that you probably never heard.
Back to the point of this post; “I Wanna Rock’s” producer, Scoop DeVille, did his thing—adding chunky drums—while Snoop sounds like he hasn’t lost a step on the mic. With all the remixes—most recently the the Kings G-Mix featuring Jay-Z—and despite initially being released in November 2009, the song isn’t losing steam anytime soon.
50 Cent, Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel: You’ve Lost That Beefing Feeling
Precise, concise and witty commentary from the good J Smooth over at The Ill Doctrine regarding all the beef shammery. Beans is on disgruntled mailroom worker status. 50 Cent is talking in circles. And Jay “I eat quail” Z pretty much wins by default.
To quote Mos Def, “Beef don’t come with a radio edit.”
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How I Can Kill Jigga Man – Beanie Sigel (CDQ) (No Tags)
The Weekend in Music Feuds [Vulture]
Beanie Sigel Continues to Profess His Undying Love for Jay-Z [The Rap Up]
Beans Lost [XXL]
Major Coinz Did Exist
See, that group, other than Sporty Thievz, I wrote about a while back wasn’t just an urban legend. [Checked at Rap Radar]
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J. Cole on Beats
Clap for him...
So this kid J. Cole—you know, the one rolling with Jay-Z—is nice with the bars and the beats. Says he’s produced 99.9% of his own music. Considering both his mixtapes [The Come Up and The Warm Up] are official like a ref with a whistle, I figured I’d ask the Fayetteville, NC native a couple of quick production related questions…
In short, his favorite producer is Kanye “I’ma Let You Finish” West, he started making beats on an ASR-X Pro, he’s working with No ID and…just watch the clip. Safe bet he’ll be in XXL Mag’s next Freshmen class.
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J. Cole – 16 Bars [Nah Right]
J. Cole Speaks on Drake [2DopeBoyz]
Slang Rap Democracy 